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British investor acts to protect his stake in Bear Stearns Cos

British billionaire Joseph Lewis plans to take action to protect the value of his 8.4 percent stake in Bear Stearns Cos, which is being acquired in an emergency deal with JPMorgan Chase & Co, a regulatory filing in the US on Wednesday indicated.

In a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Lewis reported holding 12.1 million shares of the New York-based investment bank. He holds the stake through Aquarian Investments Ltd, Cambria Inc, Nivon Inc and other entities.

Nivon bought more than 500,000 Bear Stearns shares on March 13 for US$55.13 apiece, just days before Bear Stearns agreed to be acquired for US$2 per share.

Lewis said the shareholder group will take "whatever action that they deem necessary and appropriate to protect the value of their investment in the shares," including encouraging Bear Stearns and third parties to consider an alternative transaction.

Bear Stearns was forced to accept the deal after risky bets on securities tied to subprime mortgages pushed the bank to the brink of collapse.

Lewis, a magnate who controls more than 170 companies, first reported taking a 7 percent Bear Stearns stake last September. The investment made him one of the company's largest shareholders.

In related news, Deutsche Bank was the only big European bank to bid for Bear Stearns in last week's fire sale, the German business daily Handelsblatt said yesterday.

The biggest German bank stayed in the bidding until late in the process, Handelsblatt said, citing financial industry sources.

It said Deutsche Bank might still get a chance to buy Bear Stearns because shareholders in the US investment bank have staged a revolt against the cut-rate deal with JPMorgan Chase.

Over the weekend, JPMorgan Chase agreed to buy Bear Stearns for a bargain price of US$2 per share.
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